FACTORYVILLE — Curriculum director Tania Stoker showed a PowerPoint presentation of standardized testing results at the Lackawanna Trail school board meeting Aug. 10, which includes PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment) scores and Keystone exams.

The presentation showed the 2014 School Performance Profile (SPP) for the Lackawanna Trail Elementary Center. The tested subject areas were math (grades 3-8), reading (grades 3-8), writing (grades 5-8), and science (grades 4-8). The scores were: math: 72.06; reading 62.65; writing 58.44; science 86.60. Of the 47 elementary schools in Notheastern Educational Intermediate Unit 19 and Wyoming County, the elementary center scored the 27th highest with an SPP score of 76.3.

“(SPP is) an ongoing process of aligning our curriculum to core standards,” he said. “It’s a daily conversation, taking their (students’) textbooks also using the websites that are available, ensuring that we’re exposing our children to what is on these tests prior to the April PSSA tests.”

Kelly also talked about Trail’s instruction and intervention program, in which students in grades K-3 switch classes and go to areas, of where they need to work on, for 30 minutes a day. He also said that he and each teacher brainstorm Student Learning Objectives (SLO’s). He also said that he and Stoker will start data meetings.

Stoker then revealed the SPP for Trail’s high school. The scores were: math 66.81; reading/literature 79.08; writing 75.61; science/biology 67.27. Of the 36 intermediate and/or high schools in NEIU 19 and Wyoming County, Lackawanna Trail Jr. Sr. High School scored the 24th highest with an SPP of 73.6.

“We have over the course of the past three years of course approved several test series,” said Mark Murphy, junior/senior high schoo principal.

Murphy said that the math curriculum, which is coming from the elementary center, has now been entered in the junior high school in both grades 7 and 8, not just for the last year, but this coming year (2015-16). He also said that the high school did well in biology but didn’t do well in writing.

“This year, we’re going to expand upon that with a Collins writing program to try to get more writing happening with our students everyday in various classrooms,” he said.

“If our goal is to beat our neighbor district, we missed the point. But if our goal is to consistently use valid data to become the best version of Lackawanna Trail that we can, then we’re on point,” said Murphy.

Also, the board voted to approve:

• The 2015-16 Elementary and High School Curriculum Guides.

• Debra Ellsworth’s resignation as an elementary paraprofessional with regret.

• Kelley Buck’s resignation as assistant field hockey coach with regret.

• Kelley Buck as a volunteer field hockey coach, all clearances on file.

• Sarah Brander as assistant girls’ field hockey coach, at a stipend of $3,850, as per the collective bargaining agreement, all clearances on file.

• Mallory Griggs as volunteer assistant hockey coach, all clearance on file.

• Katherine Darling as volunteer girls’ field hockey coach.

• Volunteer football coaches Thomas Ward, Stephen Jervis, Sr., and Mark Petrewski, all clearances on file.

By Ben Freda

For Abington Journal

 

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